As one of the world’s largest and most trusted operators, multipurpose carrier AAL has served the global breakbulk and heavy lift project cargo industry for a quarter of a century, operating across the energy, oil & gas, mining, forestry, leisure, agriculture and construction industries.

AAL provides customers with three distinct service models, including bespoke tramp and projects solutions to any location; scheduled liner services between Asia and Oceania; and semi-liner services combining fixed-routes with highly flexible port calls.

With a multilingual office network spanning Asia, Oceania, Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas, as well as the sector’s finest commercial, engineering and operations professionals, AAL is able to locally address a global customer base 24/7.

"AAL has been a close partner of HLPFI for many years and their understanding and appreciation of our sector has always been unwavering. We operate in a high pressure service environment, where no two companies, or the quality of their services, are the same and it is people who make the difference," said AAL's managing director Kyriacos Panayides.

"We hope that these awards acknowledge the many unsung heroes working within our sector whose expertise, hard work and dogged determination keeps breakbulk and heavy lift project cargo moving smoothly between every compass point."

Beluga Projects Logistic is a leading expert in oversized and heavy cargo logistics in Russia and the CIS.

With various innovative transport and lifting equipment in its fleet alongside a team of skilled managers and technicians, Beluga Projects Logistic is able to carry out some of the most complex transport and installation jobs safely and efficiently.

With ample experience in a wide variety of engineering projects, Beluga Projects Logistic has become a trusted partner for large companies in the oil and gas, power generation and mining industries.

Beluga Projects Logistic’s general director Sergey Ovsienko said: “Beluga Projects Logistic is thrilled to be the first ever sponsor of the Heavy Lift Awards, which I am sure will become a must-attend annual event for the project cargo sector.

"The industry will relish the opportunity to shout about its achievements in this fascinating business and I look forward to joining colleagues from around the world at the inaugural event in Antwerp this October to celebrate our success.”

Blue Water Shipping is a global provider of all logistics services in modern supply chain management, offering its clients customised solutions with unique and high quality service.

At the heart of Blue Water is an organisation of skilled professionals who offer complete and tailor-made solutions for any shipping requirement anywhere in the world.

When Blue Water was founded in 1972, the ambition was to create a small, local freight forwarding company, which could provide clients with a better quality service than its competitors.

Today, Blue Water is represented with more than 60 offices worldwide. In every Blue Water office, the company combines its strong global network with local expertise, adding value and providing its clients with services beyond transporting cargo in a safe and efficient way.

Thomas Bek, global director of oil, gas & industrial projects at Blue Water Shipping, commented: "Sponsoring the Environment Award is something that appeals to us greatly. We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously, as does the wider project logistics industry, and we would like to help publicise this and encourage others to raise their game in the future.

"These awards are very welcome as a way to raise the profile of our industry, and the benefits it brings to millions of people all around the globe.”

CJ ICM is an asset operating project logistics specialist throughout Asia Minor, Central Asia, Middle East and is commencing activities in Africa, with a large owned fleet of top quality equipment in position throughout these regions.

Altug Sozalan, ceo of CJ ICM commented: “Following the successful merger which created CJ ICM Logistics in 2017, this is a great opportunity to raise our profile as well as celebrate the exceptional work done by hundreds of companies around the world every year.

“Awards are a great way to showcase our achievements not just to ourselves but to the wider world, demonstrating the importance of the work we do, which is often unnoticed by the people that ultimately benefit from the projects we safely and successfully execute."

The deugro group, which is present in over 40 countries around the world, consists of four independent companies that offer far-reaching competence, experience and know-how in their fields of business:

deugro – Project freight forwarding

dship – Global ocean transportation

dteq – Transport engineering solutions

dhaulage – Specialised transportation assets

The deugro group redefines the one-stop-shop concept for complex logistics services and unifies the dedication, synergies and competencies of all deugro group companies. The deugro group stands for entrepreneurial, dynamic, best-in-class service and has a solid reputation for its client-centric and best minds approach, while upholding the highest quality, HSE and compliance standards.

"When HLPFI announced their first annual Heavy Lift Awards 2019, deugro group was immediately attracted to sponsoring an award that is at the core of everything we do on a daily basis," said Donald Catchings, head of global HSE (health, safety and environment).

"It is for this reason that we chose to sponsor the Safety Award. Not only are all deugro group companies guided by the fundamental principle of ensuring a safe work environment, we also hope that this award will be yet another incentive to further increase safety awareness within our industry. At the most basic level, we all want to return home to our loved ones in the best of health."

Goldhofer is a leading global manufacturer of specialized transportation equipment in the field of general and heavy-duty road haulage and oversized cargo transportation.

With a full and proven range of products, including trailers, semitrailers, modular heavy-duty vehicles, self-propelled tractors, transport equipment for wind power plants and aircraft tractors, Goldhofer meets an extremely wide variety of needs in almost every transportation situation.

The company has supplied more than 37,000 vehicles to more than a hundred different countries, all of them now doing a reliable job in what are sometimes extremely difficult conditions.

Rainer Auerbacher, member of the board at Goldhofer, said: "The industry will be delighted to have the opportunity to report on its success in this fascinating business. We are delighted to be participating in this award as Goldhofer and demonstrating our commitment to the industry."

RED BOX Energy Services was established in 2014 to provide marine transportation solutions of ultra-heavy offshore platforms and modules for high value energy infrastructure projects designed and built by leading energy and EPC companies.

Philip Adkins, ceo of RED BOX Energy Services, said: "The RED BOX team has developed many complex engineering solutions to serve the needs of our clients in the EPC community.

"Over the years our work as the leading transporter of LNG liquefaction modules for the global energy industry has inspired us to innovate and the reputation of our project engineers with our clients is unrivalled.

"The award criteria, which takes into account safety, cost efficiency, quality and innovation as well as a pro-active approach to client services, are totally in line with our own internal standards. We are delighted to associate Team Red Box with this award."

RTL has been providing logistics services since 2006 and has eight offices in Russia and the CIS, its own stevedoring company and a fleet of trucks for the transportation of heavy lift cargoes.

Mikhail Reshetkov, owner of RTL, said: “The announcement of the Heavy Lift Awards inspired us and we are pleased to become the official sponsor of the Training Award.

"We are deeply convinced that the success of any company is directly related to innovation and is built on a professional workforce. However, this professionalism requires constant support and is impossible without regular training, using new approaches and methods.

"At RTL, we nurture students so they can gain experience in the theoretical and practical elements of the industry, with the hope that they could eventually become the core of the company.

"The oversize logistics industry is very specialised and many companies have faced a shortage of skilled professionals. Through sponsoring this award, we hope to share our experience and support colleagues in other companies to tackle this matter."

TGP’s subsidiaries include Natco Switzerland, Natco Germany and NPT Brasil, each offering a wide spectrum of services in global freight forwarding, supply chain management and integrated logistics as well as value-added services such as procurement, customs brokerage and insurance.

Together with an international network of strategic partners, TGP delivers professional supply chain management globally, with a growing presence in key markets in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East and South America.